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Grace West ’23 has a plan; she always has.

“I was not a traditional child,” Grace West ’23 recalls with a smile. “I wanted to know how things work, so I was always building something and taking other things apart. That doesn’t mean I could always get them back together!”

First in her family to attend college, West says, “I knew from a young age that I wanted to become an engineer, but really doing it has been a learning experience for my whole family. My parents have always supported my goals.” 

Coming from Parkersburg, West Virginia, West attended Marietta’s inaugural Earth, Energy, and Environment Conference (E3) as a high school student. Just a few years later she was chairing the event and double majoring in Petroleum Engineering and Environmental Engineering. In December she’ll graduate with an edge: a Certificate in Engineering Leadership from Marietta’s McDonough Leadership Program where, she says, “I learned to be a team-building leader and an effective follower.” West’s credentials also include membership in two professional organizations and four honor societies. 

Two internships with Chevron intensified West’s ambitions. “I got a feeling for what it will be like to use both my degrees,” she explains. Working one summer in California on the upstream of oil and gas production and the next in Mississippi in downstream operations, “helped me get a good understanding of how the industry all fits together.” 

Now negotiating her first job after college, West knows where she’s headed. “I want to be a well-rounded engineer, to use my knowledge and experience and become a Health and Safety Environment Engineer at Chevron.” 

The Ayers brothers care.

At first it might appear that twins Braedon Ayers ’24 and Logan Ayers ’24 are taking the same path toward a shared objective — staying close to home in Fleming, Ohio; choosing the college of their parents, Denise Dougherty Ayers ’95 and Tracey Ayers ’96; majoring in Health Sciences; minoring in Leadership Studies; gaining experience as they prepare for careers as physician assistants (PAs). 

But spend some time with each, alone, and their individuality rises. Logan chose Marietta “because I wanted the experience my parents had in this close-knit community, I value the liberal arts, and the Physician Assistant Program is well known.” Braedon felt the draw “because I knew I could get what I wanted in Marietta’s small classes with attentive faculty.”

He was right. “The professors all want you to succeed,” Braedon observes. “They’re hands-on mentors in the labs and they’re supportive of the research you want to do. That’s something that separates Marietta.” Hooked on the strength of the College’s program, Braedon will begin his Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies here immediately after graduation. 

Logan sees advantages in studying leadership alongside the sciences. “The skills we’re developing in the McDonough Program apply everywhere and to every type of decision,” he explains. “Having a leadership background has already helped me manage some healthcare situations.”

While shadowing a PA at Marietta Memorial Hospital, Logan asked himself, “In what ways can I use my talents to help other people?” An internship in community health put him in direct contact with patients, an experience that he says, “solidified my plans to become a PA in a community that is underserved.”

Braedon will find his specialty through hospital rotations, building on the “broad background and skills” he’s learned in Marietta’s classrooms and labs as well as volunteering in the Strecker Cancer Center of Marietta Memorial Hospital and interning as a community health coach. Speaking from experience, he says, “Helping patients be well is rewarding. It’s amazing to be a part of their progress.” 

Elizabeth Steele